I yanked the carbs of my '97 and I cannot for the life of me get these screws off. They were either put on by the hulk or vibrated tight. I'm scared to keep going at them with the screwdriver because theyre starting to strip. I know someone else has had this problem before. Any suggestions?

Check the wiki

I used vice-grips on the screw heads and broke them free like that.  some people will tell you to get an impact driver, thatwould work too

I drill or cut or do some other technique similar to capturing Godzilla ... so you may have to resort to some violence.

BTW I do these clean and rejet jobs for people - if needed. Pics and a write up about your specific carb and bit of its history included.

I charge $5 for each of these, and have never failed to get em off on any carb, and 01+ are much much worse.

$45+return shipping for a carb rejet and clean job parts and labor. And $22 shipped to your door for - mains for your setup, 40's washers and bolts.

Cool.
Buddha.

Someone posted awhile ago that there was a special screwdriver that fits into the screws and won't tear them up?  I haven't heard anything more since he posted but I don't know if that was true or not?

thanks for the suggestions. a screwdriver seems not to work, so i guess i'll resort to something a little more drastic. if i screw everything up i'll ship them to you buddha. haha. my bike has been sitting for a while, and i've been meaning to yank it apart and figure out why the throttle was slow and sometimes surging. hopefully it's something simple. the bike came with a VH exhaust and KN lunchbox, so i'm guessing someone screwed something up in the carbs.

Quote from: utgunslinger13 on February 27, 2009, 08:43:28 AM
Someone posted awhile ago that there was a special screwdriver that fits into the screws and won't tear them up?  I haven't heard anything more since he posted but I don't know if that was true or not?

yeah that's the problem i'm having. i can't find a screwdriver that doesn't slip. and the screws appear to be brass so the heads are starting to get torn up.

It was posted within the last week or so, if you check the first 3-4 pages I bet you'll find it.  He posted a link to some japanese style screwdriver for 10-20 dollars.  Again, I've never used these so I'm not saying they will work.  But it was what stuck in my head last time someone mentioned the same issue.

Thanks,

Nick

I cut a deep flathead notch, got them out with a flathead screwdriver, and threw them away.

The DR-Z has similar screws, and I did the same and replaced them with these.  B, are they the same size?

Quote from: dleemiller on February 27, 2009, 08:47:32 AM

Quote from: utgunslinger13 on February 27, 2009, 08:43:28 AM
Someone posted awhile ago that there was a special screwdriver that fits into the screws and won't tear them up?  I haven't heard anything more since he posted but I don't know if that was true or not?

yeah that's the problem i'm having. i can't find a screwdriver that doesn't slip. and the screws appear to be brass so the heads are starting to get torn up.

You want a JIS phillips head screwdriver. JIS stands for Japanese Industrial Standard. JIS phillips head screwdrivers are totally cool, they fit the phillips head screws on stuff designed in Japan perfectly and greatly reduce the chances of stripping out the head of the screw. I know a lot of people who have a collection of JIS screwdrivers for taking apart toys designed in Japan. A set of JIS screwdrivers won't set you back too much and you'll find that you can take all kinds of things apart with ease when you have them handy...

JIS!!!! Thats what they were!

Quote from: utgunslinger13 on February 27, 2009, 09:01:48 AM
It was posted within the last week or so, if you check the first 3-4 pages I bet you'll find it.  He posted a link to some japanese style screwdriver for 10-20 dollars.  Again, I've never used these so I'm not saying they will work.  But it was what stuck in my head last time someone mentioned the same issue.

Thanks,

Nick

Not many bikers are aware of the fact that the screws used on carbs are made to Japanese standards or JIS. Despite looking like the standard ISO Phillips/Pozidrive/Frearson heads we use in the Western world the heads are in fact very different. Upshot is standard screwdrivers dont fit very well and are prone to camming out and damaging the head. The screwdrivers featured in the link I posted a few days ago are designed and made specificaly to fit JIS screwheads.
JIS screwheads are usualy, but not always identified by a dot on the top of screwhead in one of the quarters formed by the slots.

https://www.probuild-uk.co.uk/products/product.php?prodID=810&manID=&keyword=&catID=19&subCatID=120

Believe me they DO work.

Quote from: utgunslinger13 on February 27, 2009, 11:17:46 AM
JIS!!!! Thats what they were!

Yeah, they are like magic. I've used them to take apart many things like remote control cars and robotic dogs, but all the ones I have are on the smaller side... I'll have to get a set for my bike...

You can tell it's a JIS phillips screw by the little dot on the screw head, no?

I can't find a JIS screwdriver anywhere around here.

I tried to get my float bowls open with a regular #2 phillips -------  STRIPPED!  oh my goodness!

Used a hacksaw to cut a straight notch.
Took a mother-f%$king whack on my impact driver.
Out popped the screw.
Throwin' it out and going to replace it with same thread-size standard metric bolt.

Is there any box stores that sell these?  Like sears, harbor freight, etc?

If your in the USA buy them here mail order....

http://www.centralhobbies.com/Tools/jis.html

meh, any local stores I might be tackling my carbs this weekend and would rather just go pick some up.  Maybe like a "hobby lobby" or something?

Thanks,

Nick

They are difficult things to track down, the main outlets seem to be hobby shops selling Remote-control gear.

Damn, not at like a big tool store?

Thanks,

Nick

I am not aware of any stores in Ottawa (Ontario) that stock 'em.  Home Depot / Rona / Canadian Tire and the like don't seem to believe me that such a thing exists!!

I have not tried hobby stores. 

But I think I prob'ly don't need a set that badly.  Maybe if I'm working more with R/C and the like, I'd get me a set. I don't think that our bikes really have many JIS screws other than on the carbs -- and now that I've got mine off I'll replace them with allen head bolts anyway.